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Software for Turbo Trainer

by m.a.t.t.
Thu, Oct 01, 2020 14:51
13

I have just acquired the Elite Suito turbo trainer but have little idea about the various software options on offer. Of course I have heard of Zwift and the trainer comes with a free 30 day trial, plus a free 12 month trial of their own software, My E-Training.

I am not particularly bothered with the racing aspect but would instead like to be able to upload routes I create from Strava and ride them on the trainer. My E-Training allows me to do this but when I send the activity to Strava it shows as only an indoor activity with virtually no data. If I manually upload the file then it shows a bit more (power, heart rate and cadence) but the file contains no gps points and no elevation details - pretty useless for my stats!

So I guess the most important thing for me is to be able to ride routes (preferably with a video integration) and be able to then upload these to Strava with the GPS and elevation data.

Any tips on which offerings might suit my needs best?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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13 comments

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Secret_squirrel | 4 years ago
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Sounds like you want Road Grand Tour (RGT) - the paid for version will simulate any GPS track you throw at it with computer generated scenery as well as hill/resistance simulation via the smart training.

Works fine with Elite trainers too - although the resistance on/off can be a bit brutal, there is a small dip on the Canary Wharf track that I've ridden a million times which is a bit of a nothing IRL but you'd swear it was a 20% climb from the way RGT simulates it.

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m.a.t.t. replied to Secret_squirrel | 4 years ago
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Now that does sound interesting! I have noticed already with Rouvy that the change in gradient can sometimes feel quite brutal but I have tried to counter that with timing the gear changes to match with the changed gradient. It's not perfect, but it's made quite a difference so far. I will definitely take a look at RGT too.

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fukawitribe | 4 years ago
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I'd also maybe have a look at the Tacx training app - it's improved a fair bit since it took over from their old TTS s/w (which had some good points), the film quality is excellent, the price is quite decent and you can use GPS tracks (upload, link via Strava etc).

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m.a.t.t. replied to fukawitribe | 4 years ago
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Thanks, I'll take a look at that one too 

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Kapelmuur | 4 years ago
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 I've used Bkool, Fulgaz and Rouvy.   I like to follow scenic video routes and am not interested in racing.

For new users, check that your trainer is supported by the app, Fulgaz and Rouvy AR don' t work with mine.   Also my turbo is in my garage where there's is a weak WiFi signal, if you have the same problem you'll need to download routes so they can be ridden offline.   Rouvy and Fulgaz have this facility, Bkool doesn't.

The video offerings on all 3 are OK, but I preferred the selection on Fulgaz, but that's a personal choice.   Bkool has almost 2 million routes to choose from and they don't curate them so many are poor quality, boring and very similar.   However, they have some good ones if you can find them.   I also like their velodrome for the occasional bit of variety.

I found Rouvy and Fulgaz customer service very responsive, Bkool non existent.

 

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m.a.t.t. replied to Kapelmuur | 4 years ago
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Thanks for the info. All things considered, it appears that Rouvy might be the best option for me. I might check Bkool out at some time too.

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m.a.t.t. | 4 years ago
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For anyone else who may have similar requirements, I have started a trial on Rouvy and am enjoying it so far. It is really easy to set up and use and I have already had a bash at Hardknott Pass this morning. I have not tried uploading my own routes yet but it appears that this is also available to users.

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mdavidford replied to m.a.t.t. | 4 years ago
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I've been using Rouvy for a while - tried a few and feature-wise it was my favourite. Plenty of real-life routes you can ride, and yes, you can create or record your own routes to ride, and attach video to them if you have it (otherwise you get a Google Earth type view tracking your route as you ride it).

A few things I'd note, though.

  • Their software design, particularly in the route editor, isn't the most intuitive. It takes a while to get used to where things live and how to do them.
  • The video synching in the route editor seems to be chronically broken at the moment. The only way I've found to add new sync points is to repeatedly run the auto-sync (which you would think would remove all your existing points, but weirdly doesn't), which results in a new zero-indexed point being added, and then manually edit the video time, save, re-open and edit the route distance. Which is a pretty tiresome workaround.
  • The route synching service has had a couple of fairly major sulks recently - everything did appear to go through eventually, but took up to 2 days. (And I've just had another route update fail with an unspecified error and no clear way to fix it.)
  • There's a 12GB restriction on video file sizes, so you might be limited in the length / quality of what you can create.

As an alternative, Bkool also lets you create / record your own routes and add video, and their editor looks, from the demo videos, quite nice. I haven't tried it personally, though, as I preferred Rouvy's in-ride experience. I'll be going back and investigating it soon, though.

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m.a.t.t. replied to mdavidford | 4 years ago
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Thanks for the info - lots of it! To be honest, following my own video routes is not a deal breaker and, like you, I really like what they already have on offer. Is the route creation simpler if I do not add video to it?

I will have to have a look at Bkool, not heard of that one before.

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mdavidford replied to m.a.t.t. | 4 years ago
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Yes - it's dead simple if you're not bothered about the video. You don't even need to download the route editor software. Just import a tcx file on the website and it will add it as an activity in your calendar. Then go to that activity and click 'create route from activity'.

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m.a.t.t. replied to mdavidford | 4 years ago
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Perfect, thanks!

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m.a.t.t. replied to mdavidford | 4 years ago
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Just a question about subscriptions - I noticed that GBP is not available as a payment currency and, having done some sums, it appears that USD would be the cheapest currency to pay in. Did you pay in USD? Any issues?

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mdavidford replied to m.a.t.t. | 4 years ago
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Yes - paid in dollars on the credit card, and didn't have any problems at all.

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